Maybe Once Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg

Narrated by Katherine Littrell

Standalone Contemporary Romance/Womens Fiction

When I saw that Maybe Once Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg had a Jewish sleepaway camp in it, it was an immediate 1-click. Camp was such a HUGE part of my life that I really love any book that depicts it well. I also love music, and a realistic music scene is one of my favorite things to read about because my son is a musician. He’s actually played at a few of the venues mentioned in this book.

Maggie Vine is a hugely talented singer/songwriter, but at almost 35 her dreams of being a famous songwriter and being a mom are both slipping away. She has had two different real loves in her life, one in summer camp and one in her twenties, and she made a pact with both of them that they would get married at 35 if they were both single.

The book goes back and forth between the present, her twenties, and her teen years in camp. She met Garrett at a bar in her 20s. She was a singer and he was singing at the same showcase. They bonded over music but the timing was never right for romance because they were both involved with others so they became best friends, meeting at Trader Joe’s but both kind of pining for the other. It was a bit toxic because they both almost cheated several times.

Then there is Asher. Her sleepaway camp teen love who became a Hollywood star and producer. I loved the sleepaway camp stories in this book so much, and I personally know how intense those romances are.

At 35 she gets a chance with both of them again as well as a huge break in her career. But she has decisions to make….

I feel like I should have loved this book. I liked the story and a lot of parts of it, but the constant changing of timelines got very difficult to follow. There wasn’t really a cut-and-dry plot to this book, it was more retelling of her history with both men and not knowing who she would end up with.

“Success doesn’t come easily for women who dare to be themselves. It’s a painful road, but if we’re lucky, at the end, we look back and smile, realizing that we’d made ourselves proud.”

Likes:

I liked the music scene in New York references.
I loved the sleepaway camp stuff.
Summer, her best friend was my favorite character.
The heroine was brought up Jewish.

Dislikes:

It was too long with some parts that dragged a lot, and some that happened way too fast.
I found the alternating timelines difficult to follow.
I never really got to get to know the characters, it all felt very surface-level.

The Narration:

Katherine Litrell did a great job with the narration, but I think this being an audiobook made it a little harder to keep track of what timeline you are in. Also, the spoken song lyrics are so annoying! I know they aren’t allowed to sing the songs, so this one may have been better if I read it. That is a book issue, not a narrator issue though, I really liked her voice.

The Down & Dirty:

I liked Maybe Once Maybe Twice. I liked the music, the stories, and the characters for the most part, and I loved the camp stuff. But it was way too long for the storyline, dragged in parts, and the timeline changes were difficult to keep track of. Then the end was way too fast. I would also advise you read the triggers, this book contains cheating, infertility, suicide, rape, and more. All-in-all if this was 2 hours shorter and I read it instead of listened, I think this may have been a better experience for me.